Donald Trump went on a social media rant on Wednesday, July 16, shunning any MAGA supporters who believe that the administration is hiding information about Jeffrey Epstein
In the lengthy post, the president doubled down on his recent statements that the Epstein files are a “hoax” by Democrats and his political enemies
Earlier this week, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted down multiple resolutions to release more files to the public, despite a growing MAGA movement calling for transparency
President Donald Trump is doubling down on his recent claims about the Jeffrey Epstein files: that they’re a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats and his political enemies.
In a rambling post on his Truth Social page on Wednesday, July 16, the president wrote, “Scams and Hoaxes are all the Democrats are good at — It’s all they have — They are no good at governing, no good at policy, and no good at picking winning candidates.”
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull——,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump continued, denouncing the growing MAGA faction that has called for him to release more evidence related to Epstein’s 2019 child sex-trafficking case.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” he wrote.
One of those “weaklings” happens to be Trump’s own daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who called for more “transparency” surrounding the Epstein files in a podcast interview released earlier this week.
“I do think that there needs to be more transparency on this, and I think that that will happen,” she said. “I believe that there will probably be more coming on this.”
She added, “And I believe anything that they are able to release that doesn’t, you know, damage any witnesses or anyone underage or anything like that, I believe they’ll probably try to get out sooner rather than later.”
Trump’s Truth Social rant came a day after he gave reporters a similar statement, blaming the “hoax” of the Epstein files on President Barack Obama, former FBI Director James Comey, and others.
On July 14, Republican members of the U.S. House Rules Committee voted down an amendment that would have allowed members of Congress to vote on whether or not the files should be released to the public.
The following day, the entire House voted on another proposal to release the documents. The vote went down party lines, with Republicans winning a 211-210 vote to keep them private, despite a growing MAGA movement to release them.
According to an itemized list from the Department of Justice, the evidence includes photos, cameras, computers, hard drives and more, including one CD labeled “girl pics nude book 4.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel both promised to release more information on the Epstein case after joining the administration earlier this year. However, on July 7, the DOJ and FBI released a joint memo, which stated that their investigation into Epstein’s alleged crimes and subsequent death in prison was complete. The memo also stated the investigation found that Epstein’s long-rumored “client list” did not exist.
The administration’s reticence to release the information has fractured the MAGA movement, many of whom saw the Epstein files as a central issue in Trump’s reelection campaign. Trump allies like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk have publicly called for the files to be made public in recent weeks, and major outlets reported that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino skipped multiple days of work after a heated fallout with Bondi over the issue.
The attorney general has found herself in the crosshairs of the issue, after a February interview with Fox News in which she said she had the Epstein files “sitting on her desk,” ready for review and release.
However, Bondi backtracked on that claim on July 8, telling reporters that she only had a file on Epstein on her desk, not the actual evidence.
As for the tens of thousands of images and videos that the FBI/DOJ memo references being seized in relation to the Epstein case, Bondi said those “turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein,” adding that they are “never going to be released.”
While Bondi’s actions reportedly put her at odds with the vocal MAGA movement, Trump has continued to show public support for the AG, praising her handling of the evidence.
“The Attorney General has handled that very well,” Trump told reporters on July 15. “She has really done a very good job…I would like to see [transparency] also. But I think the Attorney General — the credibility is very important. And you want credible evidence for something like that. And I think the attorney general has handled it very well.”
The president also recently snapped at a reporter who asked him for more information on the report.
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” he asked in disbelief during the July 8 press conference. “This guy’s been talked about for years … are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.”
Trump then asked Bondi if she wanted to “waste the time” addressing the reporter’s question about the alleged sex trafficker as he continued, “I mean, I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, where we’re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy, with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration.”
The MAGA spotlight on the Epstein files intensified when Elon Musk departed the Trump White House in May. The Tesla CEO went scorched Earth in a rant on X following his departure, with one post in particular raising major eyebrows.
“Time to drop the really big bomb,” Musk wrote. “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.”
The following day, the billionaire and former DOGE leader walked back the post. He said he’d started to “regret some of my posts” about Trump, adding that a few of his comments “went too far.”